The Murdochs, Packers and Lowys were once the wealthiest families in Australia. The mining boom gave rise to the likes of Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer, who exercise their power in very different ways.

The direct influence of Rupert Murdoch on his newspapers has vanished from Britain, with the news that he resigned from several boards, cutting himself adrift from Britain for the first time since 1969.

The Prime Minister is being questioned under oath about his relationship to the largest media company in the land, about what was promised in the lead-up to the 2010 election, and no one gives a rat’s.

“It is difficult to read many of the report’s findings,” Rupert Murdoch tells staff after the release of the UK’s Parliamentary Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport report. Crikey has his memo.